Isaiah 61 and the Year of Jubilee: Hope, Justice, and Jesus

Introduction: Isaiah and His Mission

Isaiah delivered the Jubilee message to the people of God who are now free from captivity, restored, and exalted — a message culminating in the proclamation of Jesus. This message, delivered in Isaiah 61:1-11, gives hope to the oppressed, images of a new land, and a song of rejoicing for those who have been in exile. Throughout the text, Isaiah draws upon these themes to communicate the hope, justice, and love of God to God's chosen people.

"The book of Isaiah, according to most scholars, is rooted in the actual prophetic personality, Isaiah, 'son of Amoz,' whose conventional dates for life in Jerusalem are perhaps 742 to 689 B.C.E."

Isaiah is one of the largest and most vitally important texts in the biblical canon. Isaiah is referenced in Hebrews 11:37 as being sawn in two in Manasseh's day. Connecting this to the time of King Uzziah's death and knowing that his ministry extended through the reign of Hezekiah, it can be understood that his ministry spanned an extended period of time. "Thus Isaiah's ministry extended over a period of at least forty years (740–701), and possibly more, since Hezekiah's death did not occur until 687 and it is doubtful that the co-regent Manasseh would have dared to martyr Isaiah while Hezekiah was still alive."

While this is generally accepted, certainty of actual dates remains an open question, though the date range is founded in sincere historicity. Consistent with other prophets, the first chapter gives the context and authorship: "The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah" (Isaiah 1:1). Isaiah's primary audience was the people of Judah, who were not living according to the laws of God. Even within this context, he prophesied against Israel and the surrounding nations as well. Isaiah was passionately involved in the political and social systems of his day and appears to have come from noble lines, either priestly or political. "The book of Isaiah, in its turn, is a meditation, albeit in complex configuration, about the destiny of Jerusalem into the crises of exile and the promise of Jerusalem out of exile into new well-being."

Written against a backdrop of political unrest and upheaval as the Assyrian Empire was expanding to the detriment of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Judah was in trouble as well, though as history reveals, it did not suffer until the Babylonian captivity some time later. "Isaiah's theology demanded that Israel and Judah place their trust only in God and not in foreign powers… the beautiful visions of Immanuel that fill chapters 7, 9, and 11 came about because Isaiah tried to show Judah's kings that God would stand by them if they remained faithful."

As a citizen of Jerusalem, Isaiah made special use of language, poetry, and literary metaphor to communicate his message. This message aligns with Isaiah's broader mission. "Isaiah could not accept politics as a solution, since politics itself, with its arrogance and disregard of justice, was a problem… politics is based on the power of the sword. But Isaiah was waiting for a day when nations 'shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.'"

For this mission, a right theology and a right doctrine are presented. Isaiah's mission and message are ultimately a call to repentance, but they also communicate the coming of Immanuel. The recurring theme of the Day of the Lord marks a close connection with judgment. Ultimately, however, within that judgment comes hope for the nations. "His words contain that rare mix of ethical insight, realistic warning of disaster, and long-range hopefulness that mark his as the most profound vision of the Old Testament."

Isaiah 61:1-3 — The Spirit of the Lord and the Jubilee Proclamation

He is the prophet who gives us the clearest glimpse of the suffering servant, who will be revealed in the personification of Jesus the Christ, as witnessed in the passage of Isaiah 61:1-11.

Isaiah was the prophet authorized to proclaim liberty to the Jews in Babylon, just as Jesus was sent to proclaim the Year of Jubilee. Isaiah states in verse 1 that "The spirit of the Lord God is upon me." As part of the sabbatical law of Leviticus, the prophet draws upon the law to deliver this message of hope to the once-captive people of God — a passage that would later be referred to when Jesus reads the scroll in the temple in Luke chapter four. The meaning of this passage cannot be fully grasped without understanding the Levitical law as well as its New Testament context. "Without understanding the language and symbols of Leviticus, how can one fully understand the deepest meaning of the New Testament?"

Achtemeier, Green, and Thompson suggest that Jesus' ministry is connected to this Levitical teaching in that he heals the sick, calls for the release of the prisoner and the indebted, and offers the forgiveness of sin.

This points to the very nature of the gospel message. It is also evident in the second part of the first verse when Isaiah states, "he has sent me to bring good news" (V.1b). In Jesus' first sermon as recorded in the Gospel of Luke 4:14ff, he is handed a scroll from the prophet Isaiah and proclaims the Year of Jubilee. "Drawing on Isa. 61:1-2/58:6, Jesus interprets his ministry as the fulfillment of the eschatological Jubilee (see Leviticus 25), a dramatic cipher for the age of salvation, marked above by the ministry of 'release.'"

Jesus, the high priest to whom the Levitical Code of Holiness applies, preserves the teaching of the Jubilee and calls upon the assembled, Torah-observant Jews to recognize the lack of fulfillment of this law. These laws and commands teach the people to protect the poor and to protect the wealthy so that both groups rely on YHWH as their provision. Isaiah calls upon the Year of Jubilee in verse 2 when he states, "To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." This same message is delivered in the initial proclamation of Jesus the Christ: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (Luke 4:18-19) — to proclaim the Year of Jubilee.

The sabbatical year encouraged the Israelites to trust in God for the provisions needed for daily life. The Year of Jubilee added a second year following a sabbatical year to deepen this understanding of trust. "The name 'Jubilee' is an Anglicized transliteration of the Hebrew word yobel (v. 10), which translates both as 'ram' and as 'ram's horn,' the sound of which proclaims the start of the Jubilee Year."

This would occur on the seventh month on the Day of Atonement, also referred to as Yom Kippur, which falls in the tenth month between mid-September and mid-October. Ordinances regarding the Day of Atonement are found in Leviticus chapter 16. Atonement gave the Israelites renewal and a renewed opportunity to trust in the Lord for their provision. As verse 3 states, "To provide for those who mourn in Zion." Atonement combined with Jubilee gave the Israelites both renewal and a new beginning. R. Laird Harris understands this to be essential; "Otherwise many a hard-hearted, rich Israelite would have refused the obligation so the release," both of prisoner and of land. Following the day of contrition, a wealthy Israelite was more likely to follow the command as it related to the entire populace. In doing so, it is easy to see why the people could be called "Oaks of Righteousness," as the prophet declares in verse 3.

The Jews who had been in captivity are now free and given a new hope — promises of a new land and a new future in the Kingdom of God — just as followers of Christ are given in the inaugural message of the Messiah. Under the law, the only thing for which one could be imprisoned was debt. The Jubilee was the day when the doors of prison would be opened and all the inhabitants would return to their property and their families. "To proclaim liberty (v.10) for the slaves was characteristic of every sabbatical year. The return to the family homestead was a special feature of the Jubilee."

Isaiah 61:4-9 — Four Promises for the Restored People

Since the land also reverts to its original owner, this is good news for the poor, sick, and oppressed, as land had been taken from or indebted by those who had fallen upon hard times. Their property and freedom — these same people were the ones enslaved — were returned. The Jubilee not only reminded the people that the land belongs to God but also prevented the wealthy from accumulating large tracts of land. "Thus it was provided that the lands should not be alienated from their families. They could only be disposed of, as it were, by leases till the year of jubilee, and were then to return to the seller or his heir."

This would preserve familial and tribal heritage as well as prevent the wealthy from amassing large landholdings, thus keeping certain families in extreme poverty. It granted all Israelites their liberty and treated them as equals, as the land would be redistributed every fifty years. "The chief point was that there should never be a build-up of power by a few to control the land and the people; therefore, there was redistribution of the land as it had been divided in the beginning."

Each family or tribe was given the opportunity to return to its land and be renewed. "Those that were sold into other families, thereby became strangers to their own; but in the year of redemption they were to return." It is important to note that some of these individuals could have been enslaved for up to forty-nine or fifty years. "People will experience economic freedom by returning to their land and to their families."

The Jubilee would announce their release and their return to the land, but more importantly, to their familial system. With that backdrop, four distinct types of promises are offered in Isaiah 61:4-9: promises of a new and rebuilt city, promises of justice, promises of a new identity, and promises of hope for all people.

The first was a promise of a new and rebuilt city, which would bring stability to the once exiled and nomadic people of God. Their present state would be transformed by this promise, bringing recovery and restoration to a nation in turmoil. They would become a prevailing people once again, both in their physical and spiritual reality. Secondly, there were promises of justice. While the language of verse 5 might sound vengeful, the nation's hope was that they would once again be empowered and entrusted to be a light to the nations around them. When verse 5 states, "Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks," the Hebrews understood that they were to be good stewards and good landowners as the Jubilee was realized. The Gentiles were aliens and strangers to the covenant of God, but could benefit from the justice of a good King. This justice would allow foreigners to work alongside the members of the nation of Israel in a peaceful community.

Next, there were promises of a new identity. In verse 6, Isaiah re-establishes who the people of God are and where they come from. They shall be called priests of the Lord, ministers of God; they will experience the wealth of nations and be restored to the glory they once enjoyed. Having lost much, the nation needed to be reminded once again who they were and whose they were, and Isaiah delivered the message that brought the promise of a new identity in the new kingdom. Finally, there were promises of hope for all people. Verses 7 through 9 reveal the hope of a community for all nations and all people that the Lord would establish through them. There would be a payment for wrong but also redemption, a love for justice with a hatred for robbery and wrongdoing, and a recompense for all that had happened. Because God is holy, he required his people to treat each other justly, including the nations of Israel and Judah in the midst of their faithless immorality. For the faithful, there would be an everlasting covenant, their descendants would be known, and the Lord would bless them. "It would be difficult to overstate the importance of Isaiah for the Christology of the church."

This four-fold promise of God was delivered as the culmination of the hope the Messiah would bring as the Year of Jubilee was ushered in.